Environmental activists from the group Extinction Rebellion (XR) dumped dyes into Venice's Grand Canal and several rivers in Italy on Saturday to protest the “failure” of COP28 on climate.
In the middle of the afternoon, activists spread a fluorescent green liquid in Venice's Grand Canal among passers-by, gondolas and tourists, images posted on social networks showed.
At the same time, activists hanging from ropes and belts unfurled a banner from the famous Rialto Bridge that read: “COP28: While the government speaks, we hang by a thread.”
XR Italy claimed on X (formerly Twitter) to have distributed fluorescein, a “harmless” dye.
“The climate crisis is already having a catastrophic impact on Italian territory, science tells us it will get worse and politicians are wasting time on farces,” the group complained.
“We rebel against this inaction, we cannot remain silent while our future is sold to the fossil fuel industry!”
Similar actions took place on the Tiber in Rome, in a canal in Milan and on the Po in Turin, according to images posted on social networks.
The action comes three days before the end of the UN climate conference, which is taking place in Dubai, amid negotiations to phase out oil, gas and coal as OPEC tries to slow the momentum towards fossil fuels.
Back in May, environmental activists turned the basin of Rome's famous Trevi Fountain black after deadly floods in northeastern Italy, which they said was a “warning” about climate change.